#Longpost

[infinitivesterling]

IT'S MOON DAY!

Hey. Why isn’t the moon landing a national holiday in the US. Isn’t that fucked up? Does anyone else think that’s absurd?

[batneko]

You gotta value yourself!

[prev]

[first]

[thankstothe]

folk hero really

[sabrebash]

a comic about OCD

[theoretically-questionable]

@strikeslip

(I'm assuming you mean you're a software engineer and that your overall knowledge of LLMs is greater than mine — I'm just a technical writer/research paper editor.)

I've written something like 20k words on LLMs and neural networks in healthcare over the last twelve months (such as here), most of it being an ad hoc assemblage of my findings and frustrations as I get up to speed with the scientific literature on the topic (there is a lot of outright malpractice).

Now I'm considering producing something more targeted and planned out (and better formatted), aimed at people working in companies like yours who want to better articulate arguments against this stuff without falling into misinformation that might come back to bite.

Most of my knowledge is based on case studies and public anecdotes, though; I don't have a lot of insight into how these things are raised and discussed on the corporate/workplace side, and I think that's a blind spot.

Do you think a long-form resource that specifically provides counter-arguments to commonly proposed LLM use cases in healthcare (with data, citations, and examples) would be actually useful? Is that even a feasible goal, given the scope of things?

If so, I'd love to pick your brain (even extremely briefly) on the most commonly proposed uses you've seen, and the most effective counter-arguments you've found — or if there are readings/resources like this that already exist and have been useful for you/your colleagues.

good lord WHAT is your job?

I'm a software engineer for Microsoft. Which is a job I DID honestly enjoy quite a lot until whatever the hell's been going on lately.

Like imagine you're an architect and you get pulled in to help build a house. And it's a pretty well-engineered house! You can recognize and appreciate this and contribute the same standard of quality.

Until the guy who controls all the money shows up one day and says houses are NO good anymore. People want a BOX for the AI to live in. And actually start tearing down walls and ripping out the electrical and plumbing because the AI doesn't work with all that. Just make it a BOX for the AI.

So you do what they say and rip out things you're proud of and smash holes to drag all the AI through. But the AI is constantly changing and no one knows who you should ask to understand the shape the house needs to be to fit the AI. And the people who do know are probably too busy getting their necks breathed down by members of leadership who are paid millions a year to tell you to just do whatever ChatGPT does. So your team gets dicked around with unclear instructions given with absolute urgency. Also every 6 months they lay off 3% of the company so you walk in one day and Bob who's worked here for 25 years is just gone.

Also the AI is supposed to get good enough at building houses to replace your job. Maybe. It doesn't actually do that but the guy who controls all the money is hinging all that money on convincing other people that's true.

I miss house.

[str8aura-no-not-that-one]

Stuffed Animal dashboard simulator

🐻feltedfur Follow

pray for me human put me in the wash on fucking hot water im never gonna be the same colors

23 notes

🐇velveteen-everything Follow

got left outside in the backyard but this is kinda nice actually im okay with this (:

🐇velveteen-everything Follow

the hawks

14.1k notes

🐉shinyscales Follow

this is bullshit ive been bragging to everyone in the toy chest because my tag says i was made with love but i got torn today and guess what. its just stuffing inside

🥽pooltoy82 Follow

lol imagine having stuff inside you lmao

🐉shinyscales Follow

i literally see you outside the window looking smug. log off

4 notes

🦭 sealofapproval Follow

FELL OFF THE BED HELP HELP HELP HELP

🐭 m4m4_p0ssum Follow

WHY ARE YOU POSTING ON PLUSHBLR INSTEAD OF KEEPING WATCH FOR MONSTERS THATS YOUR HUMANS ROOM

990 notes

🐭 plushiepolls Follow

🐉shinyscales Follow

lets not spread body dysmorphia on plushblr guys

🧑 thatoneweirdhumanplushie Follow

op casually ignoring stuffed animals with different colored fabric for eyes

▶️ stuffedyoutooz Follow

some of us dont even have eyes!

13k notes

🐶 newdogtoy22 Follow

i know animals are allowed to see normal plushies moving and talking but whats the rule for dog toys.

▶️ stuffedyoutooz Follow

what breed of dog op

🐶 newdogtoy22 Follow

poodle? does it matter?

▶️ stuffedyoutooz Follow

no i just wanted to remind you your lifespan can be measured in days

🐶 newdogtoy22 Follow

man come on

20 notes

[olliemnjones]

[felassan]

MEET: The Veilguard [source]

"RECRUIT DISTINCT COMPANIONS Rally a team of seven companions, each with rich lives and deep backstories. These are characters to befriend, and even fall in love with. Among them, an assassin, a necromancer, a detective, each and all bringing their own expertise and unique abilities to the fight. Harding This dwarven scout has a big heart, a positive outlook, and a ready bow – as well as unexpected magical powers. Davrin Bold and charming, this Grey Warden has made a name for himself as a monster hunter. Now, he cares for a young griffon. Bellara A Veil Jumper obsessed with uncovering the secrets of ancient Elvhenan. Bellara is focused, creative, and romantic. Taash A dragon hunter allied with the Lords of Fortune, Taash lives for adventure and doesn’t mind taking risks. Lucanis An expert assassin for whom the Antivan Crows are a family business. He is poisted & pragmatic, but lacks social skills. Emmrich A necromancer of Nevarra’s Mourn Watch, this well-meaning scholar comes complete with a skeletal assistant; Manfred. Neve A cynic fighting for a better future, both as a private detective and a member of Tevinter’s rebellious Shadow Dragons."

[source]

[leviathan-supersystem]

the 3 red lines is basically to rein in their own insane real estate market that they themselves allowed on purpose to inflate their debt to an uncontrollable degree, which results in less money to borrow by such companies in the macro

which would in turn result in less houses being built, right?

the point of the 3 Red LInes policy was to tamp down on housing speculation, you buffoon- forcing them to put speculative assets on the market, which is what drove down housing prices.

while this could potentially have the side-effrct of disincentivizing construction in the long-term given that construction companies were building housing for the purpose of using it as a speculative asset, (which is why it will likely be necessary to phase out the program in the future after the speculation problem has been addressed and the existing surplus has been taken out of the speculative market and put in the hands of consumers), the immediate, primary effect was to force companies to sell off their speculative holdings for quick liquidity, thus putting more housing on the market in the here and now.

this was explicitly the driving purpose behind it- "housing is for living in not for speculation" as the saying went. and given that housing speculation is also a massive issue in the USA, it's obvious that putting a lid on that could be beneficial.

and given that it's been primarily private equity driving the speculative bubble in the US, rather than the construction companies, putting a lid on speculation won't even disincentivize construction in the same way it did in china.

so how on Earth do you think that the decrease in rental prices is the result of a policy that actually goes against that, and not that the very policy was implemented to deal with the already falling market prices, a result of the real estate market being a total scam?

housing prices were still rising when the policy was implemented you moron, and started dropping soon after implementation:

Anyhow, if you bothered to look it up, rental prices initially soared yes, but has been falling since from the high end of 2023 to the degree that they are 40% lower now, adjusted to inflation, which is also down massively, with the listings of real estate being near twice than it was before.

>but has been falling since from the high end of 2023

(and before you ask, dates in the buenos aires times are day/month/year. article was written in October)

it is soooooooo fucking funny that you got all high and mighty about "IF YOU BOTHERED TO LOOK IT UP" when you couldn't even be bothered to look at the date of the article i linked.

so, now i'm going to do what you never bothered to do: actually look at the data that milei defenders use for their "down 40%!!!!" claim:

okay so. looking at this, my immediate question is: what happened after that? the chart cuts off in early 2024, right after the big dip in rental prices- is this the new status quo, or is it just the other side of the pendulum swing in a still wildly fluctuating market?

astute readers have probably already guessed where i'm going with this. but for the benefit of the un-astute:

Rent prices in Buenos Aires City (CABA) keep going up, and in March, for the first time, the average price of a studio apartment went over $500,000 a month, with increases above inflation.

Average rent went up 3.1% compared to February and is up 9.9% in the first quarter of 2025, exceeding inflation for the period (estimated at 7.2%). In the last year, rents grew 43.2%, way below the 124.7% of the Lease Contracts Index (ICL), according to a Zonaprop report.

[...]

Between January and February, accumulated inflation was 4.7%, according to the CPI. In February, the index went up 2.4%, and it's estimated that in March it will reach 2.5%. This data confirms that rents keep going up above inflation.

This increase happens in a context of shrinking supply: after a record number of listings in 2024 due to the repeal of the Rent Law, availability dropped 15.94% in the last two months.

[...]

Higher profitability for investors

The rent/price ratio is at 5.26% annually, reducing to 19 years the time needed to recover the investment. Lugano and Nueva Pompeya lead in profitability (8%), followed by Parque Avellaneda (7.5%). In contrast, Puerto Madero, Palermo, and Belgrano have the lowest returns (3.6%, 4.2%, and 4.3%).

and of course this was the outcome. the initial uptick in supply was driven by landlords evicting their old tenants in order to find new, more profitable tenants in the newly deregulated market. it was inevitable that they'd find their new tenants (some landlords riding the bull market and getting their desired payday, some getting caught in the bear market after the market got oversaturated and having to take the L) which would mean they'd take their properties off the market and we'd see a new equilibrium largely the same as the previous one.

this was never a permanent solution, as anyone with any understanding of economics and more than half a brain could see.

one last note:

the 3 red lines is basically to rein in their own insane real estate market that they themselves allowed on purpose to inflate their debt to an uncontrollable degree,

yeah and the kind of free market system you've been pushing for would allow companies to inflate their debt to an even more ludicrous degree and completely lacks the tools to ever rein it in- because reining it in would be government interference in the housing market, which according to you should be forbidden.

(interesting that you dont seem to mind when the government interferes with housing to support landlords- enforcing evictions, etc)

liberalism as an ideology is fundamentally unable to address the housing affordability crisis because liberal ideology considers it to be just as bad, if not worse, for people to lose money on their housing investments as it is for most working class people to not be able to afford a house.

so you see liberals wracking their brains going "how do we bring down the cost of housing..... without bringing down the value of anyone's housing investments????" which is a fundamentally unsquareable circle, since "the cost of housing" and "the value of housing investments" are quite literally the same thing.

thus the confusion and bewilderment with China's 3 Red Lines policy - "bwuaugh????? China deliberately pushed Evergrande into bankruptcy anf crashed the housing market?? are they crazy? dont they know they're making Line Go Down????" because these clowns forget that economic metrics are a tool, a means to the end of promoting human well-being, not an end unto themselves.

(also a lot of the economic talking heads who express this confusion are stock traders who live entirely off investments and have never done a day of work in their life, and cant even imagine the idea of an economy that isn't run primarily for the benefit of parasites such as themselves.)

[brixbraxium]

The Significance of Susie, Rude Buster, and The Prophecy.

(This has spoilers for 3-4)

This is a bit of a long post, but it's an important one, I think. Let's talk about Susie's signature spell, Rude Buster. I genuinely think there is thematic significance to this spell. To get to why, though, I want to go over everything.

Rude Buster is a spell that Susie knows from the moment we meet her in Chapter 1. It costs 50% TP, and, as the description tells us, it inflicts moderate "rude" element damage to one foe, and uses both Attack and Magic in its calculation. It considers defense in its calculation, and it scales better with Attack than it does Magic.

I want to compare this spell to another spell, Iceshock.

Iceshock inflicts "magical ICE damage" to one enemy, and costs 16% TP. It scales purely with the Magic stat, and is unaffected by her Attack stat. It also cuts through defense. On the surface, Iceshock is generally the better spell, it would seem. It might not deal as much damage at first, but it's significantly cheaper than Rude Buster, ignores defense, and scales like crazy when Noelle becomes Stronger.

While this is speculative, it almost comes off as if Iceshock is being more 'properly' cast. It's described as 'magical', it seemingly instantly surrounds an enemy rather than needing to be aimed, it ignores defense entirely. But... I think there's a bit more to it than that. Noelle's magic is kind of distinct from Noelle herself in a way. There's some level of detachment. There's distance. This is (partially) why we're able to manipulate her so easily into getting stronger. It's easy to not think about it. They're just enemies. Etc. But Rude Buster? It's a direct extension of Susie herself. She might not be directly naturally talented with Magic, but hell if that'll stop her. She channels everything she has into her axe and sends it out as a bolt of rude energy.

My point is this.

Iceshock deals perfect, magical damage to an enemy, piercing defense. It's better than a Susie crit at first, and it scales drastically. It's simple, and it's cost efficient.

Rude Buster is a direct extension of Susie herself. It's her raw emotion channeled into a single attack. It's her willpower, her resolve, her hope, all imbued into one little spell. Rude Buster as a spell is, either symbolically or literally, Susie's resolve.

This is why it is a "Rude" buster. What does it mean to be Rude? To be impolite. To not follow the rules, the expectations. And, if there's one thing Susie excels at, it's breaking every single expectation anyone might have for her. Is it truly by chance that, out of everyone in the party, it is Susie who talks back to the Roaring Knight? Is it truly by chance that the only party member who can actually do anything of substance against The Knight is Susie, with Rude Buster? Kris is (in most circumstances) holding back. Susie and Ralsei are able to deal chip damage. But Rude Buster, through sheer force alone, overcomes the Knight's defense, not by being magic or anything like that, but simply because it's that good.

Consider also The Titan. Everything seems bleak, the Titan can regenerate, and there's nothing we can do. So what do we do? We call upon Rude Buster. Technically it's "Dual Buster", but...

Susie and Gerson are both clearly casting variations of Rude Buster here.

And it works. And, lets think on that for a moment. Gerson also knows a version of Rude Buster. ...Why?

It's not like Gerson doesn't have his own magical attacks he could have used here, right? They could've easily done something else for this. But... No. Gerson casts his own Rude Buster. Why? Well, think about what Gerson stands for. He believes, in the same way Susie does, that the Prophecy isn't all it's cracked up to be. He believes that it can blind you, that it's better to read between the lines. As a Secret Boss, his philosophy is "I don't care".

So, to me, at least, it makes perfect sense that he would also know Rude Buster. Because, just like Susie, when confronted with the fate of the universe in bold text, he simply laughs it off.

This is also, I believe, why Gerson is the only character who can outright reflect Rude Buster.

Because while Gerson might not have the same resolve to change fate as Susie does, he is driven in a similar way.

The Devilsknife reduces Rude Buster's TP Cost. Why? Is it just because logically a jevil-turned-scythe would be good at channeling Magic? No. Think about what Jevil stands for. He believes that because his choices do not matter, he is free of consequence. He can "do anything", because his choices are irrelevant. If he could somehow be punished, then, well, his choices would've mattered, then, wouldn't they? And he knows that's not true. So he does whatever he damn well pleases. Obviously, Jevil and Susie are not really comparable- Jevil fully accepts that Fate is unbreakable, and Susie very much seems to think The Prophecy is bogus by the end of Chapter 4.

But, I think the throughline is there. Devilsknife makes Rude Buster easier to cast, because by nature, Jevil is already used to doing whatever he wants and ignoring the 'rules'. I hope I've made my case clear. But there's even more.

This may well be where I lose you, to be clear, so I hope you take everything I've said about Rude Buster as its own thing, and consider the rest of what I have to say as an extension of that. If you don't believe what I'm about to say, that's totally fine. Without further ado... Let us consider... The Prophecy.

The Second Hero of the Prophecy is "The Girl, with Hope crossed on her heart." As many before me have pointed out, this depiction... does not quite look like Susie. The weapon is wrong. This is a much longer discussion and I don't think I can quite fit it into this post, but, in essence, I believe that this was supposed to be Noelle Holiday. Noelle actually can equip a few swords as of Chapters 3-4, surprisingly. She can equip the Jingleblade and the Blackshard. However, I don't believe that Susie is "not" the second hero. I believe that The Prophecy has been tampered with. Or, at least, reinterpretted. Think back to what Gerson said. Stories can be changed. They can be retold.

Cat Petterz the RPG is a ripoff of Dragon Blazers, which is a retelling of Lord of the Hammer, which is a retelling of The Prophecy, which is a retelling of DELTARUNE.

I believe that this sort of thing is happening to the prophecy itself. I believe that Gaster, for one reason or another, changed the prophecy, replacing "The Second Hero, The Girl" with Susie. This sort of rules lawyering is possible because Susie is also referred to later in the prophecy:

We know that this is Susie because Rude Buster is being used to identify her. This image is even called "Rude Buster" internally. I believe the original prophecy was introducing Susie as a different "The Girl". However, because it technically uses the same term to refer both to Noelle and Susie, their roles can be altered. And so, Susie, through Gaster's intervention, became the Second Hero.

But why? Why was it important to make Susie involved? I believe it's simply because of who Susie is. When confronted with fate, Susie laughs it off. She won't let it happen. Wheras someone like Noelle would try and accept it for what it is, most likely, Susie outright refuses to play by the rules. And this gets us back into Rude Buster. Rude Buster is important. It's important enough to be the name of the battle theme, it's important enough to be what symbolizes Susie most directly in the prophecy. I believe that Rude Buster, and what it represents, is why Gaster chose Susie. Noelle might, in some sense, have "hope crossed on her heart". But it'd be passive hope. Wistful hope. Susie has active hope. With every fiber of her being, she has that hope. She inspires that hope in others. It is, as Ralsei puts it, infectious. She infects herself with hope, and grows it.

She infects Ralsei with hope.

She gives Tenna hope.

And, though this is more of a stretch, she even, indirectly, infects Seam with hope.

Remember that the only reason we could even potentially defeat The Knight is through Susie's perseverance, and Susie has to defeat Gerson, (who Seam is talking about here) on her own. Remember what Gerson told us.

Susie has the White Pen, that can draw over the dark pages of fate, known as Hope.

I believe that Gaster picked up his own pen, to transform Deltarune into his deltarune, one where Susie steps up to bat as the second hero of prophecy...

...So that Susie could, in turn, pick up her own white pen, and write a new ending. Chapter 7. A retelling of a retelling. The words on the wall called her a hero. Maybe that's not what they were ""supposed"" to mean. But, does it even matter? Through her grit and determination, it won't make a difference. She may not have been intended to be the second hero, but, she is, angel damnit, and the universe is just going to have to accept it. She may not have been chosen by The Angel, or whatever the hell wrote that prophecy, but she was chosen by one Wing Gaster, who considers her Very, Very Wonderful. She wields the White Pen to draw all over fate. And, of course, that white pen has a name. "Rude Buster". When the hands of fate draw near, you can always count on a good ol' Susie Rude Buster to persevere through anything.

[kyra45]

Scammer pretending to be in Palestine v2

This post has been remade with better info! Please go to this one:

Got an ask from someone claiming to be in Palestine needing mutual aid? Unfortunately there is a scammer going around and it’s likely the ask you got sent is the same one being sent by multiple accounts who target users interacting with Palestine posts. These blogs use the text/images off a real fundraiser and then post it here pretending to be the person it’s made for. Their accounts are usually only a few days old and they don’t interact beyond the ask/follow. Lately they might make the link to their PayPal account in different colors or claim their GoFundMe is pending so you will assume the real one is theirs. They don’t have any GoFundMe’s set up. They steal from them. If you need proof of something being stolen, searching the text of their post in a search engine should pull up the source. If you know how to report PayPal accounts, please report those used by the scammers.

(Moved to new list)

Below is a growing list of fake/stolen names used across the accounts:

Nour Samar | maryline lucy | Fred Odhiambo | Jeff Owino | Valentine Nakuti | Conslata Obwanga | JACINTA SITATI | David Okoth | Martín Mutugi | Daudi Likuyani | William Ngonyo | Fred Agy | George Ochieng | BONFACE ODHIAMBO | Sila Keli | John Chacha | benson komen | Alvin Omondi | Jacinta Sitati | Daudi Likuyani | Noah Keter | Faith Joram | Rawan AbuMahady (any PayPal’s using this name are scammers who have stolen it off a real GoFundMe. The real person does not have a PayPal account that they post on tumblr.) | Asnet Wangila | Remmy Cheptau

Keep in mind this post isn’t saying all accounts asking for mutual aid in Palestine are scams. Rather, this post is meant to bring awareness of a scammer stealing money from those who really need it by pretending to be a person in Palestine. To report scams, use this:

Report -> Something else -> Illegal uses or Content -> Phishing

(Please do not use the comments section to ask for gfm sharing if someone’s asks or DMs are closed. Thanks.)

[dunmeshistash]

Ryoko Kui Exhibition & ''Delicious in Dungeon'' Exhibition

"Delicious in Dungeon" Artwork

Cover illustration draft, vol. 1

Since this was the first volume, I tried out a few different drawings and had the editor and designer choose which ones they wanted, then made small adjustments. I personally liked the top-down draft, and the one of the cooking processes (back cover) the best. But looking back, I sincerely think it's good that we didn't go with those. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 2

The format was decided for volume 1. So, volume 2 came together quickly. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 3

I thought it might be cool to make the character Chilchuck darker in the foreground, and the background brighter! But it didn't quite work out the way I had imagined. I think it could have been a bit better. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 4

I remember that the overall shape of volume 4 came together very quickly. The character Senshi's hands didn't fit nicely, so I moved them backwards and to the side. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 5

I thought people might start to think "how many have I bought?" so I wanted to create a slightly different impression with this volume. I decided to put the character right in the center and try putting it together all in blue and green hues. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 6

With the Red Dragon defeated, have we reached the halfway point in the story? With this in mind, I thought of how many volumes were left to go, and the number of characters, and decided to pair up the characters Namari and Shuroiro. In hindsight, it would have been fine to have them on one cover each. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 7

The image is of focus lines converging on the character Izutsumi. This is the kind of cover, with upside down characters, which I've always wanted to try once(?) I submitted it as a trial, thinking that at this point the cover wouldn't dramatically influence sales. However, in the end, we decided it would be better not to have it upside down. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 8

I tried blurring the mushrooms in the foreground, then I accidentally saved over it, and couldn't go back to the original. I remember apologizing that it was probably tacky, when I submitted it. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 9

I don't think snake meat is marbled at all, but if it has an unfamiliar look, people might not recognize it as meat… so I made it look like beef to make it easier to understand. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 10

I thought it might be interesting to have more than one of the main characters on the cover again, so I added the character Falin. I remember it wasn't badly received, but it still ended up just being Thistle on his own. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 11

I wanted this cover to be covered in shiny gold. After I finished it, it didn't have enough color, so I painted the tablecloth green, and it ended up looking like Christmas colors. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 12

Up to this point, the covers have featured one of the main characters holding cooking utensils in the foreground and a monster in the background, but I thought it might be interesting to reverse the format just before the final volume, so I drew this cover with that in mind. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 13

volume 13 was meant to be the final one, but it was too thick to be published as a single volume, so we decided to split it into two. The question of “so, what should I draw next!?" may be at the forefront of volume 13. (Kui)

Cover illustration draft, vol. 14

I had decided that the final cover definitely needed to have everyone eating together on it, but because I was publishing two books at the same time I was pressed for time, and it was difficult to have a cover with so many characters on it. I also submitted a rough for an illustration that didn't need me to draw any crowds, but such obviously easy ideas are never adopted. (Kui)

TV anime "Delicious in Dungeon"

About the ending illustration.

I drew these based on the director's instruction "This kinds of pictures." I hardly ever have the chance to draw color illustrations, so it was a valuable experience for me. (Kui)

[Kui's commentary is from the english pamphlet]

[whysosiriushuh]

Sirius: Which one of you was going to tell me that tea tastes different if you put it in hot water

Lily,*slowly puts her book down *: Y-You were putting it in cold water....

Sirius: ....

Remus: Padfoot? Answer the question. Sirius!

Sirius: Yeah I thought for like 5 years that people just put it in hot water to speed up the tea-ification process. Didn't realize there was an actual reason.

Everyone: ....

Sirius: You think I have the patience to boil water?

Regulus: You don't have the patience to microwave water for 3 minutes????

James,*grabbing him*: Why are you. putting it in the microwave to boil it?!

Regulus: Do you think I have the patience to boil water on the stove?!

Remus: Fuck Regulus you too!!??!!

James: It takes less than a minute!

Marlene: IS YOUR STOVE TOP POWERED BY THE FUCKING SUN?????

James: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO BOIL A CUP OF WATER ON THE STOVE!??!

Remus: Like 7 minutes!

James: Just stick the mug on top of the stove on medium heat and it boils in like 2 minutes less than that and you use a saucepan.

Pandora *taking notes*: Everyone in this room is so creative :)

Dorcas*turning to Remus*: So no one in your house uses a fucking kettle!?

Remus: Its right there near the stove!!

Sirius: Wait a second... that's used to make tea??

Regulus: You told me it was there for aesthetic!!!!!!

James: So its not???

[kringle-c]

"It's only-"

[mediumgayitalian]

Will usually wakes up in the dark.

Head Counsellor — and Head Medic — duties, you see. And, moreso, representative of his father (or so the man claims). He must be up to greet the sun, and so he must be awake before it rises.

Pitch black, though.

That’s unusual.

“Do you want to go look at the stars with me,” says the pair of eyes hovering above his bed, which Will assumes are attached to a face, and particularly the face of his best friend.

And Will blinks. And squints. And glances outside, where there is not even the barest hint of sunrise — he can feel, in his chest, that the sun is presently as physically far away from him as it can get at this point in the season.

“Nico,” he croaks, eyes sliding shut again, “It’s two in the morning.”

His eyelids reflect the flash of Nico’s grin. “You sound like a cowboy.”

Will’s eyes pop open, and his face burns. He rockets straight up, shoving his best friend, who is laughing. Crosses his arms.

“I damn well do —” He stops, catching himself. Nico snickers. He scowls, and enunciates his words carefully. “No, I don’t.”

“Like Johnny Cash,” Nico says sagely, because he’s a jerk. “Didja just roll in from town, pardner?”

Will scowls and goes back to sleep.

Except, he doesn’t. Because Nico’s laugh is low and raspy, and the mattress dips by Will’s hip, where he leans against it. Where he rubs his palm over Will’s blanket-covered arm, making him shiver. Where he presses in close. Where the warm puff of his toothpaste-scented breath tickles the curve of Will’s ear.

“C’mon,” he murmurs pleadingly, and without looking Will can see his pout, the roundness of his wide brown eyes. “Please? I’m trying to listen to you. You said I’m not allowed out of camp by myself.” Nico lingers at the curve of Will’s wrist, pressing a cool finger deliberately on his pulse point. Will prays he doesn’t feel it quicken, but he can tell by the smirk in Nico’s voice that he does. “C’mon, Sunshine. I want to watch the stars with you.”

Will practically springs out of bed, he jumps away from that low voice so fast. Nico laughs, muffling it with his hands, and it does nothing for the burn of Will’s face, the writhing and churning in his stomach.

“Nice boxers,” Nico observes, as Will bends over his dresser, muttering to himself. Will freezes, and Nico carries on, voice deliberately controlled. “The Ninja Turtles is a really good look for you.”

Will’s face burns so hotly he ceases to feel anything but his own heartbeat in every square nanometer of skin, and then, to add insult to injury, he begins to glow. In his cheeks, at first, but it spreads quickly to the rest of his face, to his neck, down his chest.

Right down, humiliatingly, past his hips, where it shines through the worn-thin fabric.

“I didn’t know I would have company,” Will hisses, stumbling into the first pair of bottoms he finds. He misses the leg holes four times. The glowing gets worse. “What kind of — sick bastard — drags a man from sleep — and then mocks his sleeping attire —”

“Brave of you to call it attire,” says Nico, seeing as you’re covering much of nothing.”

Will misses the leg holes, again. This time he goes careening forward and lands flat on his face.

He’s still glowing, by the time they finally make it out of the Apollo cabin, and Nico is still snickering. Will is still furious with him. Or trying to be. But he gives up, when Nico offers his hand, because the harpies don’t avoid him like they do Nico, and he has suffered enough. No need for avoidable gauging.

Even if the icy cool of of Nico’s sword-callused hands feels good rubbing against his own sweaty palms, and Nico smells, vaguely, like churned dirt and smoke and a little bit of something fresh, herbal. Something good.

“Okay,” Nico says, somewhere past a row of darkened cabins. Will blinks, dazed. Disoriented, in the pitch-black, except the sheen of Nico’s eyes. “Don’t get mad.”

“About what,” Will asks dumbly, a second too late, too quiet. Because Nico’s teeth flash as he smiles, guilty and daring, and then he loses his footing, and the shadows swirl.

Will throws up the second his feet are on solid ground again.

“There, there,” says Nico after a moment, sounding a little shakey himself. He pats Will’s back. “It’ll fade, so long as you brought all your organs with you.”

“What,” Will croaks, and then after a brief, panicked check — “oh my gods…my spleen…”

Nico pauses.

“Well,” he says, and then is silent. He clears his throat. “Well, that’s not an important one, right?”

Will wheezes instead of answering.

His spleen.

His beautiful spleen…

“It’s okay,” Nico assures quickly. “It’s fine. I’ll ask the shadows to be nice on the way back. They should let you keep up to ninety-nine point four percent of your organry this time so it’ll all be fine and dandy.”

He pretends not to hear the mumbled I hope.

Gods help him.

“Where even are we,” he manages, finally. “Stars not good enough in New York?”

“Correct,” Nico says primly. But maybe he catches sight of Will’s still-green face, or maybe he’s just feeling benevolent. Because he smiles, and cups Will’s cheek. Strokes his thumb over Will’s cheekbone. Graciously ignores how Will’s throat closes. “Too polluted, azzurro. I wanted to bring you somewhere worth your time.”

Will feels his breath catch, his heart thump. Azzurro. He doesn’t know that one. And for a moment there is a flash in Nico’s eyes, something like panic, and his hand twitches — like he moves to snatch it away, but aborts at the last second. Draws it back slowly, instead. Lingers.

“Always worth my time,” Will says, before he can stop himself. “You, I mean.”

Nico’s eyes crinkle as he smiles.

“You’re such a cheeseball.”

He is. But Nico looks down as he says it. Kicks his shoe in the grass. Will exhales, and brings up a hand, wraps it around his wrist.

His pulse races.

“Hike,” Nico says when Will frowns. “Uh, the best view around? Up high. Let’s move.”

He stalks off before Will can say anything, tripping over roots and rocks. They’re in a — forest, maybe, of some kind, a trail; Will stumbles over after him and snags the back of his hoodie, when his outstretched hand grasps it, trying to keep in sight.

“Hey,” he says, quiet. “Slow down. I can’t see like you can.”

Nico slows down, so Will can walk next to him. Swallows. Keeps pace, for a moment. Between them their knuckles brush.

After a moment, Nico turns his palm. Will exhales, long and shakey, and matches it, curling their fingers together.

The walk is — good.

They come to the top of a rocky hill and sit heavily. Nico’s breath comes out in cool mist, and were Will not keeping his locked in his lungs, his would, too. Instead he watched the swirl of the steam, as he crosses Nico’s full lips, traces the dark shape of him in the low light. In the thick, night-heavy air.

“You’re not looking,” Nico says, eventually. He swallows heavy, eyes trained on the sky. “Stargaze with me, Will. Look at the heavens.”

Will swallows, dry. He’s not like Nico but his eyes have adjusted, in the dark, and he can see the dark on his cheeks, across the bridge of his nose. He can see the small, shy smile fighting onto his lips. Can see the careful shine of his hair, brushed, for once. The sheen of his silk dress shirt.

“You planned this,” Will says, not a question. “Being — here.”

Slowly, Nico nods.

“Why?”

“I can’t ask my friend to appreciate space with me?” he defends, but it is halfhearted at best, and he picks at his fingernails. “Just ‘cause, I guess.” He shrugs. “Wanted to sit with you.”

It’s not the truth. Or at least not the full truth. Will can feel it like you can taste rain coming in the air, like you can smell the sea before you hear the waves.

“I thought —” It’s harder, than he imagined, to say it. To put the words, and all they imply, into the wavering space between them, above their still-joined hands. But he swallows, and makes himself. Voice quiet. Voice low. “I thought this might be a date.”

Nico doesn’t say anything for a moment. And then he squeezes Will’s hand, and nods.

“…I hoped.”

“You didn’t ask.”

Nico’s flush darkens in the starlight. “I did so.” He breathes. Quick. Inandout. “Kind of.”

Will inches closer, a little. “When you ask,” he says, quiet. “The word ‘date’. In involved.”

For a long moment Nico says nothing. Nods. Gnaws on his lip. Picks at a loose thread, and another.

“Will,” he says, looking away. “Do you want to go on a —” he stumbles on his words — “date. With me.”

Will nods, once, eyes not leaving his face.

“Yes.”

“Cool. Groovy.” Nico nods, once, and again. Will’s lips quirk up. “Good. Glad to hear it.”

Will leans closer, still. He can feel Nico’s body heat, at this distance. Feel his breathing.

“I’m here,” he says. “We’re under the starlight.”

He doesn’t know how to say anymore. He stares, only, eyes half-lidded. Breathing slow. Close. Waiting, for Nico to look back.

He does.

“I want to kiss you,” he says, quiet. “But I’m nervous.”

Will nods. Squeezes his hand. They’re both sweaty, now, too warm.

“Me, too.”

Nico nods. Will does, too, and he bites his lip, because it is ridiculous, because there is a lot of nodding. But he doesn’t know what else to do.

Nico does, maybe.

He slips his hand free. Wipes them on his jeans. And then, fingers shaking, breathing trembling, eyes drawn close together, he rests his palm on Will’s cheek. Slides his fingers in his hair, around the back of his neck. Angela his head down.

“Stop me, if it isn’t good.”

Will exhales, and nods again. Nico leans in close, and then closer. And there is the brush of his lips. Chapped. Gentle.

There is a spark, passing from his skin to Will’s. It makes them both jump.

Nico presses in, suddenly. Surges. Like live wire, like if he doesn’t touch, he will die. Like he needs the taste of Will’s breath in his lungs.

“Will,” he sighs, and kisses him again. And again.

Will closes his eyes and sees stars.

———

@willsolaceweek day 4 — will in love

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